Theme
by Kaiser Wilhelm
Summary: On Hiatus. Sorry everyone, I can't seem to find much inspiration for this one.


***I really shouldn't be doing this. I mean it. I have two ongoing stories, and a couple oneshots that I'm working on, but, hell, it's summer, I'm listening to Les Mis, and I'm inspired. Thus, this was born! I've had the basic core of this idea since maybe early sophomore year, so expect some craziness (especially for those of you who know my thought process). Basically, I'm attempting the 100 themes challenge on deviantart (not that it will ever reach 100 chapters), so if you're up for coming along on the ride, I'd love the support. Another thing, just for your information, the main pairing is ShikaNeji, but Gaara plays a HUGE role as well (too bad fanfic doesn't let you list three characters, lol). Anyway, read, review if you have the time, and as always, enjoy yourself! Oh yeah, and all the definitions are from the Oxford English Dictionary (which, according to my old AP English teacher, is God).**

**Disclaimer: Introduction- ****1. a.**** The action of introducing; a leading or bringing in; a bringing into use or practice, bringing in, in speech or writing, insertion, etc. b. Something introduced; a practice or thing newly brought in, etc. c. An inference. 2. The action or process of leading to or preparing the way for something; that which leads on to some result; a preliminary or initiatory step or stage. 3. Initiation in the knowledge of a subject; instruction in rudiments, elementary teaching. (P.S. I don't own Naruto in any way, shape, or form, nor do I own anything I may or may not mention in my story).**

**Chapter 1: Introduction**

The brunette was worried. His husband was late. Normally, the pretty boy with the dark umber tresses did not let himself grow concerned over something as stupid as his husband's punctuality, but his significant other should have been home an hour ago, and the brunette had a bad feeling.

Said brunette lay on the couch staring up at the ceiling. Oh, how his body ached! His limbs shook with stiffness, head pounding, heart racing. His blood was boiling away, skin on fire, and yet he could not seem to stop shivering. It was frigid. Where was his husband? Where was his Shikamaru? Oh if only Shikamaru was here, he would lie with the brunette arms encircling the other, warming him, comforting him. The brunette would sigh happily, and once his strength returned, the two would return to their fairly normal, pleasant life together.

The brunette tensed, grimacing. It was coming, the worst pain yet; he could feel it in his bones. It shredded through him like claws. A tidal wave with the force of an atomic blast. He wanted to scream, but his voice had left him. His nerves imploded. He was melting, bursting into flames. Pins and needles. Numb. He was everywhere, everything. Images exploding their way into his brain. He could see everything. Earth. The Milky Way. The universe. God. It was too much, overload. He needed to focus on something, to sooth him, to keep him sane.

Shikamaru.

He could see those thick black locks, kind auburn eyes, small smile. He was holding someone, someone dear to him. The future.

The brunette felt dizzy. He needed to focus more. The lingering pain, agony, torment. Who was he?

_Your name is Hyuuga Neji. You are nineteen. Your name is Hyuuga Neji. You are out of your mind. Your name is Hyuuga Neji. Hyuuga Neji. Pain. Agony. Pain. Death. Die. Die. Dying. Dead. _Shikamaru.

Warm. So warm. Heaven. Sweet, familiar scent. Neji smiled despite himself. Who was this angel? Soft warm lips barely grazed his forehead.

"I'm home, baby." The brunette sighed. He wanted so badly to curl closed to this heavenly creature, but his body had given out long ago. He barely had the strength to breathe.

"Who…?" he slurred out, genuinely unsure of the identity of the person that held him. The angel kissed him lovingly.

"Your husband," came the reply. Had Neji been able to think, he would have noticed the hint of anxiety in Shikamaru's voice as he spoke. But Neji, as always after these episodes, did not even know his own name.

"…That's…nice." Another kiss.

"Shhh…get some rest," Shikamaru murmured softly. He lovingly stroked his Neji's long beautiful hair, easily soothing him to sleep.

Neji dreamed of a time long ago, a time when he was still living with his "family" in Hyuuga Manor. He was something akin to a fairy tale princess locked in a tall, dark tower. The family coveted him for his power, and because of his weak body (caused by the power itself), he could not even dream of fighting or escaping. He was trapped, a prisoner.

Oh, he was well fed, well taken care of. His family was the upper of the upper crust, so Neji lived rather comfortable. But, he was confined to his room, his bed. They used him. They would make him "see" for them. They would give him strange pills and medicines, make him "train" his powers, all for the sake of "maximizing his capabilities." At the end of the day, the brunette would feel weaker. He would have seemingly eternal fevers and could barely keep food down. He had gained a permanently bloodless look, save for the dark circles under each silvery eye. His body would shake with any sort of movement. It was a living Hell, but then again, Neji did not mind because it was all that he knew.

He remembered the three family members that made Hyuuga Manor worth living in. First, his father. Hizashi had taken such good care of his son in the days that he was alive. Neji had only known him until the tender age of four, but it was enough. Hizashi was constantly at his son's bedside, taking care of him. He was always kind to Neji, reading him stories, comforting him on his worst days. But, Neji always heard his father arguing with the elders outside of his room. He heard the resentment, his father's voice dripping with hatred. He wanted his son to be free, to take Neji away from that Hell. Hizashi tried it once, and the next day, he was dead. No one took Neji away from Hyuuga Manor and lived to tell about it (Shikamaru being the only exception).

The only other two relatives that Neji cared deeply for were Hinata and Hanabi: the two sister heirs. Everyday, the two would come to see Neji. Kind and shy Hinata would appear first. She would come bearing foods, books, anything from the outside world, and they fascinated Neji. The violet-haired girl would pick up where his father left off, taking care of Neji when his illness became too much for him.

Later in the day, the young, sardonic Hanabi would return. She would come with stories. School, friends, stores, rumors, anything outside of Neji's walls he heard about from Hanabi. She told it animatedly with a smile, and Neji would listen intently. In truth, Hinata and Hanabi made his life. But, at six-thirty sharp, dinner was prepared. Neji's uncle, the head of the house, would knock on the door, enter, greet Neji, give his nephew a plate full of food, and usher Hinata and Hanabi downstairs to the dinner table. Neji would not get to see his cousins again until the next morning when they quickly stopped in to say good morning before school. Once Neji had finished his meal, someone would come upstairs to grab his empty plate, and then Neji's doors were closed to almost everyone (except in emergencies) for the rest of the night.

It was during one of theses times that Neji met Shikamaru. It was late, and Neji sensed people. But no one was at his door, and these people were unfamiliar. Neji closed his eyes and focused; these new people were outside. Neji could feel them just outside his window. The brunette dashed to his window, ignoring the ache in his body. There, they were wandering around the Hyuuga estate. Neji blinked, confused. These people were strange. Their eyes were not white, and just as well, one of them was blond.

The brunette closed his eyes, concentrating his energies on the two. He could hear them, just barely ("Shika, I think we're lost." A shrug. "Do you even care?!" Another shrug. "God, you are so annoying!" A sigh. "Ino, you're the one who got us lost, remember?" "Oh yeah…well why didn't you stop me?!" Another sigh).

Neji found himself chuckling. He had never heard such a casual argument before. Stifling his laugh but keeping a soft, beaming smile on his face, Neji looked back out the window. Almost immediately, he felt his breath catch in his chest, heart racing. Was it another attack? No.

It was him. The dark-haired boy. He was looking straight at Neji! In spite of his instinct to heed his uncle's many warnings and run to inform someone of the intruders, Neji waved hesitantly.

The dark-haired boy did not wave back. He merely kept his hands in his pockets, but he gave Neji a small genuine smile before winking. Neji felt blood rush to his face, putting colour into his ever-pale cheeks.

The blonde called the other over, and the two left from Neji's view. Somehow, the brunette felt dizzy. He returned to bed, allowing his feeling of elation wash over him. Without realizing, Neji fell asleep. And that night, he "saw" everything that the dark-haired boy did through his dreams.

When Neji awoke the next morning, he had a fever. He shivered, clenching his teeth to distract himself from the pain.

The day was a blur of hazy images. He drifted in and out of consciousness until Hinata and Hanabi returned. Even then, he barely kept himself awake. One moment Hanabi was talking; the next, his head was on Hinata's lap as she wiped the sweat off of his face with a damp washcloth. Finally, he came to only to find that his room was dark and he was all alone. Neji cursed silently. He had never missed his chance to hear about Hinata and Hanabi's days, no matter how ill he was.

Neji felt so disoriented. What time was it? Where was he anyway? His stomach rose into his throat. He bit back vomit, gulping. Dazedly, he looked towards the window, having the oddest feeling that something was coming. His eyes closed.

They opening slowly, vision returning. There was a shadow, a person in from of him. Neji sensed no danger. However, he could not seem to find his voice. The other person approached the bed. It was at this point that Neji recognized the silhouette. It was the boy who winked at him!

The boy watched as breath-taking pearl-like eyes opened and stared at him, shocked. God, what a beauty! However, analyzing the scene before him, the dark-haired boy realized that this beauty was very sick. He sat down on the bed, next to the pretty brunette.

"You know, I'm normally not one to do such moronic troublesome things as sneaking into someone's house at night, but I swear I couldn't get you out of my head. Troublesome…" Neji found himself giggling. He felt oddly comfortable, even through his fever. Without realizing it, Neji rested his head on the dark-haired boy's lap, knowing that the other would not mind.

"You're some prince charming," he murmured, gazing up into auburn eyes. The owner of said eyes smiled.

"You're really something yourself, Rapunzel." Neji beamed, curling closer.

"You're so warm," he commented softly. "It's nice. The other just chuckled.

"I'm Shikamaru," he grinned. The brunette smiled dreamily.

"It's a lovely name. I like it." Shikamaru simply shook his head.

"You're a strange one. Don't ever remember meeting a guy like you." The white-eyed beauty blushed. "Tell me your name."

"It's Neji." The brunette gently nuzzled Shikamaru's lap. It was so wonderful.

"Cute," he murmured. "So, Neji, tell me about yourself."

And Neji did. The brunette knew that he should not have, but it all just burst out of him, like a dam had broken. He spoke of his powers and consequent illness. Of his father, Hinata and Hanabi. Of his confinement and "training." He told Shikamaru everything. The other boy simply nodded in the right places, and smiled encouragingly when Neji hesitated. Soon, it was apparent that Shikamaru had been there for hours. He stared into warm auburn eyes, eyes so very different than the cruel, calculating white eyes that he was so used to (Hinata and Hanabi aside, of course). Shikamaru opened his mouth to speak.

_AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!_

Present Neji's eyes snapped open; he gasped, nearly jumping out of bed, but his body was far too weak.

He came to only to note that he was surrounded by a warmth so wonderful that he nearly fell right back to sleep. Why did he wake up again? The scream.

"Sh-Shika," he managed, voice hoarse, barely above a whisper. Shikamaru nearly snapped awake in turn, quite unlike himself.

"Neji, what's wrong?" he asked seriously. Neji snuggled into Shikamaru's shoulder. His lovely husband was just so warm, like a furnace. In fact, everything felt warm; Neji hoped to God that he did not have yet another fever.

"Shika…what happened?" Shikamaru smiled softly, kissing Neji's head even though it was damp with sweat. The dark-haired boy-turned-man pulled his lover closer so that the brunette was practically on top of him.

"Shh…baby," he comforted, "don't sound so worried. Everything's fine." Neji sighed, gently nuzzling the skin of Shikamaru's bare collar. "When I came home, you were passed out on the floor, so I carried you to the bed and decided to sleep myself. Don't try to do much; your fever's spiked." Neji caught himself before he groaned. Shikamaru seemed to have noticed the brunette's discomfort. "You're lucky I got here when I did," he joked. "You were starting to lift the furniture in your sleep again." Neji managed a small smile.

"Really?" Shikamaru kissed him lightly.

"Yeah, I was worried you were gonna wake the neighbors, or worse, have them walk in to find floating furniture." Neji curled closer to his husband.

"…I dreamed about when we first met." Shikamaru let a soft beaming smile cross his face as his Neji babbled on softly, sweetly. He pulled the brunette up so that his face was buried in the crook Shikamaru's neck. The lazy man smirked playfully.

"You were so naïve. I appeared in your room, and you didn't even flinch. In fact, you cuddled with me first chance you got. You're just lucky I didn't try to seduce you 'til later."

"I don't know why I cuddled with you, I just did," Neji whispered, blushing cutely. "I couldn't help myself." Shikamaru grinned. He kissed Neji's forehead.

"Try and rest. You're still burning up, you know." Neji nodded; he was feeling rather fuzzy.

"Shika…love you."

"Shh...I love you too, sweetheart; now go back to sleep." The dark-haired man began stroking the brunette's soft tresses, placing light butterfly kisses wherever skin was exposed. It was so wonderful, so warm. Neji could barely keep his eyes open. But there was something wrong. Something that he was forgetting. Then, it came back to him.

"Shika," Neji managed in little more than a mumble.

"Yeah?"

"Did you…hear a scream earlier?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, confused, but nonetheless, he wrapped his arms almost possessively around the brunette.

"No. What kind of scream was it? Did you "see" anyone?"

"No, no one. It was a child though." Shikamaru grimaced at the thought.

"It could have been some kind of vision, babe." The brunette nodded once again.

"Must've been," he slurred. The dark-haired man knew that his loved must be exhausted. "I hope the poor thing's all right."

"Shhh…you can't do anything about it know. We'll figure it out in the morning." Shikamaru kissed dazed eyes shut, kissed soft lips. He pulled a disoriented, overheated Neji oh so close. Before the brunette could think another coherent thought, his Shikamaru had lulled him to sleep.

***And there you have it. Fun stuff. Let me know what you guys think, okay? Also, I was too lazy to proofread. I hope there aren't any major mistakes. **


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